


Paradise

by drwhogirl



Series: Emma Caffrey [6]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Episode: s04e01 Wanted, Episode: s04e02 Most Wanted, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24861985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drwhogirl/pseuds/drwhogirl
Summary: Emma runs into an old friend and they recollect the last time they saw each other.
Series: Emma Caffrey [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1780558
Kudos: 19





	Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> For the purposes of this series, Neal Burke isn't called Neal. As Neal Caffrey was still around during his childhood, Peter and Elizabeth decided it was a better idea not to inflate his ego.

“Mmm.” Emma closed her eyes for a moment, to focus on the taste and aroma of the drink in her hands.

“That good is it?” An amused voice asked from the other side of the table. Emma’s eyes opened and focused on the man sat opposite her. Blue eyes met brown and she couldn’t resist the smile on her face.

“Even better. Dad wasn’t wrong when he said this place has the best coffee on the island.” Emma told her companion with a smile. She sat back in her chair, letting her eyes wander over his slim but well-toned physique. He was wearing a short-sleeved white shirt with the top couple of buttons undone. Beneath that he wore a pair of khaki shorts which had been wet from the ocean when they came in, but the island sun had soon sorted that out. “So, you wanted to do some planning?” Emma asked, bringing the conversation back to their original topic.

“Right, yes.” Max brought himself back to the matter at hand, instead of staring at the woman in front of him. “Have you chosen any bridesmaids yet?”

“Not many. I’ll ask Cindy and Sammy but I don’t really have any girlfriends, so I don’t know who to ask. Have you got a best man?”

“I was going to ask Theo when we got back.” Max made a note on the notebook in front of him. “You could always ask my sister. She’s always looked up to you and it would mean the world to her.”

“That’s a good idea. Hailey can definitely be a bridesmaid.” Emma bit her lip in thought. “You know, at this point I’m half inclined to just ask Uncle Mozzie.”

Max shuddered, earning himself a confused look. “Sorry, I just had the mental image of Mozzie in a bridesmaid’s dress.”

Emma laughed. “Whatever floats your boat Mr Burke.” She teased, taking a sip of her coffee.

“You know I only have eyes for you Miss Caffrey.”

“I’m sorry, did you say Caffrey? As in Emma Caffrey?” One of the locals asked, approaching the table.

Emma looked up to look at the man that had spoken. “Yes, do I… Hector?” Hector nodded with a grin. Emma got to her feet and pulled him into a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

Hector hugged her back. “It’s good to see you too.” Hector released her and noticed the diamond ring on her finger. “That’s quite a gem.” Then he addressed Max. “I presume you would be the fiancé?”

Max got to his feet and offered a hand which the other man took. “Max Burke. How do you know Emma?”

“My name is Hector. Emma and I were friends as kids.”

“Hector ran a fruit stand and dad stopped people stealing from him.” Emma explained, throwing her arms around Max from behind.

“You know, you never really told me about your time living here.” Max seemed a little more relaxed with Emma’s arms around him. He wasn’t jealous, he told himself, but there were so many unsavoury characters in Emma’s past he had no idea if the man in front of them could actually be trusted.

Picking up on this, Emma whispered in his ear. “Would you be ok if Hector joined us for coffee?” At Max’s nod, she said aloud. “How about you join us Hector? And we can tell Max all about our time here.”

* * *

_As Neal walked through the market, Emma ran excitedly over to the fruit stall in the corner. “Hi Hector!” Emma greeted her friend excitedly. “Have you sold any fruit?”_

_“No, sadly not.” Whilst Hector was distracted, he noticed a man take some Papayas from his cart. “Hey, you didn’t pay for that!”_

_Neal walked over and ruffled his daughter’s hair as he handed Hector some money. “Here. For his papayas Hector.” Neal said with a smile._

_“Oh, thank you, señor..”_

_“See you in a little bit, buddy.” He kissed the top of his daughter’s head. “I’m going to Maya’s shop. Come and find me in a bit, okay?”_

_“Okay.” Emma and Hector talked for a while before Emma decided she needed to go and find her dad. When she walked into the coffee shop, she could see her dad trying to flirt with Maya. Emma approached them and asked for a drink before being sent to sit with her Uncle Mo… Barry. But she could still overhear their conversation._

_“I like you, James. I do. But men like you are trouble.”_

_“Men like me?”_

_“Men who come here to escape their past.”_

_“Oh. I think you're confusing me with the guy who steals Hector's papayas.” It was then that he noticed Emma was listening and winked at her, earning a beaming smile. “And if you are, I'm offended.”_

_“So you're an honest man who has nothing to hide.”_

_“Open book.”_

_“You're from New York and your daughter’s mother isn’t around. That's all you've told me.”_

_“It's the best city in the world.” He told her breezily._

_“Then why'd you leave?”_

_“To live here. In paradise.”_

_“You uprooted your young daughter to move here for no reason?” Maya asked sceptically. “I'm sorry, New York. Your open book is a work of fiction.”_

_“Maya, come on.”_

_“One moment of honesty. That's all I'm asking. Maybe then I'll consider dinner.” Maya placed a piece of cake and a lemonade on a tray and passed it to him for Emma._

_Neal took the tray and placed it on the table with a sigh. “If it isn't Barry Soetoro -- carefree treasure hunter.” He sat down next to Emma. “And my darling daughter Emily of course.”_

_“Just so I'm clear, you can have any woman you want, and the one woman you choose is the only woman in the entire archipelago who doesn't want you.” Mozzie taunted, reaching for the cake in the middle of the table._

_Neal took the cake and placed it in front of Emma. “You have your pursuits, I have mine.”_

_Mozzie pouted but let it slide. “Well, she has no reason to assume we're hiding anything. Except the fact that this island has no U.S. extradition treaty and we showed up with limitless wealth.” Mozzie paused for a moment. “You miss it?”_

_“Of course. But what's regret gonna get me?”_

_“Nothing. And you're James Maine -- rich, carefree island resident looking for a fresh start with his young daughter. Neal Caffrey, on the other hand, is – “_

_“Is a wanted fugitive.” Neal finished for him. “I just wish we hadn’t had to take Em away from everything she knows.” Neal had taken to calling her Em, at least whilst they were getting used to her new name. He turned his attention to the girl in question. “What about you Em? Do you like it here?”_

_“Yeah, but I want to go home. Can we go back home yet? I miss my friends.”_

_Neal sighed, pulling her into a one-armed hug. “I know, but we’ve talked about this. This is our home now.” Emma nodded, the look on her face broke Neal’s heart. He wished he hadn’t had to do this to her, that she could have had a normal life at home in New York._

_Whilst Neal worked on his moulds for the surprise he had planned for Maya, Emma sat with her easel and did some painting. She didn’t look up when her Uncle came outside._

_“You know, most normal people make sandcastles out of sand.” Mozzie teased, reaching down and giving Emma’s hair a ruffle as he walked past._

_“When have you ever considered us normal people, Moz?” Neal asked with a grin._

_“Your point?”_

_“Language is fluid.”_

_“Oh. So is your linen shirt.” Mozzie commented, eyeing the shirt critically._

_“All right. You mind hanging out while I change?” Neal paused, looking at Emma. “We should take Emma and leave her with Hector’s parents on the way.”_

_“Or I could go meet Dobbs by myself, save you the trouble.” Mozzie suggested._

_“We're paying the guy 25 grand a month for safe haven. I think that's earned me some face time.” Neal told him with a mischievous grin._

_“As you know, I vetted a lot of locations for our final refuge, and with our very specific demands for lifestyle and security, it's a short list.”_

_“Big enough to blend in, small enough to limit exposure. I know, Moz.”_

_“If we cross Dobbs in any way, our only other option is Isla Paradiso.”_

_“Sounds nice.”_

_“It's a leper colony! And contrary to popular opinion, I do not have the compassion of Jesus. We also couldn’t take Emma with us, they don’t have a school.” Mozzie explained, picking up the empty bottle he had left on the table. At Neal’s confused look he explained. “Oh, I got this for Dobbs.”_

_“And this would be?”_

_“Oh, a good first impression.” Neal headed inside to change his shirt. He also needed to change Emma’s clothes as she was now covered in paint. It wasn’t long before Emma had been dropped off with Hector’s parents and Neal and Mozzie were on their way to their meeting with Dobbs._

_They collected Emma on the way back and decided to pick up some dinner for her and Mozzie. Neal, however, had other plans which he had stopped to discuss with Hector on the way. By the time Neal put his plans with Maya into motion, Emma had already been sent to bed. He checked in on her before going out to the beach and made sure that Mozzie was there for Emma if she needed him._

_The following day, they were headed into town when they spotted Peter in the coffee shop. Emma started to run over to greet him but Neal grabbed her arm and held her back. “We’re going to meet Uncle Peter at the church, ok?” The girl looked disappointed but nodded._

* * *

  
“And the rest.” Emma said with a smile. “You already know. Hector stole your dad’s wallet leading to a reunion. I stayed with Maya until dad’s plan was put into place and we were ‘betrayed’ at which point she handed me over to Collins. Our dads took down Dobbs and we went back to New York. Good thing too.” Emma told Max, giving him a kiss on the cheek and taking his hand in hers. The movement caused light to glint off the ring, catching Hector’s attention.

“You’re engaged?”

“Since yesterday.” Emma beamed happily, holding up her hand so her friend could inspect the ring more closely.

“Congratulations. How did you meet?”

“We grew up together.” Max explained, draping his free arm over the back of his fiancee’s chair. “I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember but she took a little more convincing.” Max teased.

“I didn’t take that much convincing, I just didn’t want you to regret your decision.” Emma was blushing now, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “Anyway, I see you must have your own love story to tell.” Emma said, gesturing to the wedding ring on Hector’s finger.

“I do, but another time. I need to get back to my shop and it gives us a reason to stay in contact this time.” Emma couldn’t exactly argue with that. Hector got up to leave, only pausing to shake Max’s hand and kiss the back of Emma’s.

“You know, maybe Uncle Mozzie could officiate.” And just like that they were back to planning the wedding. Max jotted down the ideas and while he was at it, added two new guests to the list. As he listened to Emma’s excited ramblings about how to convince Mozzie to get properly ordained, he couldn’t help but smile. If he had ever had any doubts, he knew that they would have been squashed. Emma was his future and always had been, and he refused to have it any other way.


End file.
